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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308882">as fate would have it</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meclanitea/pseuds/meclanitea'>meclanitea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Living Together, M/M, Post-Canon, late college</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:22:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308882</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meclanitea/pseuds/meclanitea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“A yellow stress ball.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Kazunari is used to his boyfriend talking about things out of the blue. Shintarou is never wary about speaking his mind, even if his words aren’t always as honest as they are blunt.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What about a yellow stress ball, Shin-chan?” </em>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>as fate would have it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmetropolis/gifts">Jmetropolis</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've already given this in advance but Jmetropolis told me they hoped that I post this so here it is xD This is my gift to them for the <a href="https://twitter.com/KNBSecretSanta">KnB Secret Santa</a>.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas to all who celebrate \o/</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A yellow stress ball.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kazunari is used to his boyfriend talking about things out of the blue. Shintarou is never wary about speaking his mind, even if his words aren’t always as honest as they are blunt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks to the kitchen counter where Shintarou is meticulously sewing his lucky item for the day, a small bunny plush that he surely intends to hang off his messenger bag. Kazunari can already imagine Shintarou’s fellow schoolmates second-guessing the sight of a man over 6 feet, wearing a straight face, having the cutest little thing out there for everyone to see. He knows his boyfriend won’t even glance at them for a second if he doesn’t have to in turn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thought of it makes Kazunari smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about a yellow stress ball, Shin-chan?” From his seat at the coffee table, he twists his body towards the other man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes a few seconds for Shintarou to answer as he lays down his work on the dustless marble counter. He faces Kazunari and pushes his eyeglasses upwards in classic Shin-chan fashion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The day I had to choose a high school, my ranking had been low, but I was advised to bring a yellow stress ball around to increase my luck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shintarou shifts his eyes back to the television that continues to prattle about fortune advice, and Kazunari is starting to get an inkling of what he’s getting at.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s proven right when Shintarou, ears slowly being tinted red, says, “I think Scorpio was first place then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A giggle bubbles out of Kazunari’s throat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No one would ever tell you it’s easy to understand Shintarou Midorima, but right now, Kazunari certainly knows what his boyfriend is trying to convey: </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I simply prepared as I needed to and God gave me the chance to meet you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s not a conventional romantic line, but it makes Kazunari’s heart dance out of glee. He stands up and immediately rushes to wrap his arms around the taller man’s neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Here, in the apartment they had chosen together, where all the furniture is arranged according to feng shui, with different lucky charms hung all around, Kazunari is reminded yet again, why he loves Shintarou so much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The time nearing graduation a few years ago, after the Winter Cup ended, had been filled with anxiety. Their life would no longer revolve around basketball and even though they were going out, who’s to say when the next time they will be able to play again will be? As people who are leaving the plausible basketball career path behind in high school but were inexplicably linked by the sport, would they still be connected in the future?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Kazunari had mustered up all his courage to start up a discussion about </span>
  <em>
    <span>them </span>
  </em>
  <span>back then, and he was thrown a curveball when Shintarou casually asked him to live with him. Shintarou proposed as if it were the most natural and easy decision to make. And much like now, he had hugged Shintarou as hard as he could, overwhelmed with all the feelings bursting from his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the present, Kazunari is burying himself in the crook of Shintarou’s neck. He breathes him in and can hardly keep the corners of his lips from turning up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Shintarou reciprocates the gesture by placing his own hands on Kazunari’s back, Kazunari sighs in content, then whispers, “I love you too, Shin-chan.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>twt: <a href="https://twitter.com/meclanitea">meclanitea</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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